Students and community members will have the chance to voice opinions of what shopping and dining additions they would like to see in College Park at a forum tonight organized by Student Government Association President Andrew Rose. The forum is part of Rose's ongoing plan to give the area surrounding the university more of a "college town" feel.
Rose said he hopes students, developers and public and university officials will be in attendance tonight to kick off a series of upcoming events giving students the ability to express what improvements need to be made to downtown College Park.
"I'm coming prepared with a range of questions that will let students talk," Rose said. "I want them to talk about what they want to see in CP without money being an issue."
The highlight of tonight's forum is a presentation of postcards designed by associate architecture professor Brooke Wortham's historic preservation classes. The postcards feature images the students took of different areas of College Park they felt represented the city in its current state.
"I told my students to display what different places in College Park are like, to give a feel for the qualities and characteristics of the city," Wortham said.
These postcards will serve as comment cards at the forum tonight, on which students can write comments and suggestions, as well as responses to how College Park ranks as a college town, Wortham said. The student suggestions taken from the postcards will then be presented at the follow-up charrette, or meeting, to the forum, which is scheduled for April 8 at the school of architecture.
"The postcard suggestions will help us plan the charrette," said Jacob Day, Wortham's research assistant and member of the American Institute of Architecture Students. "The charrette will allow students and citizens to design what best fits the potential of properties with help from architecture students and professionals."
College Park Director of Planning Terry Schum previously told The Diamondback the city would be willing to work with student ideas for redevelopment plans.
Rose invited university administrators and members of the city council to the forum, and expects officials from the university's facilities management and administrative affairs departments to be present. However, he says he wants to keep student opinion at the forefront of tonight's discussion.
"I want to make sure students are controlling the forum, that there are students at the helm," Rose said. "The goal of tonight's meeting is to gain a student-focused and student-driven opinion of what they want to see in College Park."
The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. in room 0106 of the Francis Scott Key building.
Contact reporter Kelly Whittaker at whittakerdbk@gmail.com.
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